Period dress is encouraged and I'd been considering it for some time and this weekend I bit the bullet. I already had the cap & goggles and I found the white overalls for the princely sum of a fiver and I was set.
Oily Hand's Life with MGs |
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We loaded up old Numbum for an early start to help erect the MGCC Tyne Tees Centre display shelter but when we got there it was already up so we had a cuppa & chatted before wandering off to see the other exhibits. With it still being early there weren't many cars about but still plenty to see & photograph. While we were wandering through the classic car lines, we spotted an MGB GT which looked very familiar. We had a good look around it and were almost convinced that we were right but it took a photo comparison at home to comfirm it. Yes, it was the GT I sold a couple of years ago, converted to chrome bumpers and a much improved interior. The owner wasn't around to chat to so we left and carried on with our day. Period dress is encouraged and I'd been considering it for some time and this weekend I bit the bullet. I already had the cap & goggles and I found the white overalls for the princely sum of a fiver and I was set. Most of the afternoon was spent on the banking watching the racing. Our favoutite spot is on the straight between Sunny Out and the Complex which gives us a good view of the action. All too soon it was time to set off for home and it was on the way that I had an oh dear moment. The road home has a few roundabouts with good sight lines and if the road is clear I like to have a go. Drop into third, a touch of the brakes to steady things and power through. Today the application of power produced a good sized puff of blue smoke. I guess it's eaten some valve guide seals. I can't complain as apart from a broken crankshaft a while ago, this engine has stood up well to the abuse I give it.
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It was raining as we loaded up old Numbum and set off for the start of this great run at Stokesley. On the way there we were alarmed by clouds of smoke coming from under the dash. It's a good job we were topless as the car would have been unbearable with the top up. I found somewhere safe to pull over and investigate. The smoke didn't smell like burnt wiring so I decided to look under the bonnet. I saw that the engine was covered in oil and the cause was in plain sight. Somebody had topped up the oil before we set off and hadn't put the oil filler cap back on. I wonder who it was? Oil had splashed out of the top of the rocker cover and once it ran down to the exhaust manifold it produced the huge clouds of smoke. Thankfully that was the only problem we had all day. We arrived at Howards Cafe in Stokesley and collected our route book and plaque. Over a cuppa we chatted to other entrants and studied the route before heading outside into the wet to prepare for setting off. The route book was great and easy to follow and we had no trouble at all. About 20 miles in we ended up in a long convoy and decided to take a break. The village hall in Boltby had a pop up cafe so we stopped for a cuppa & a scone to allow the convoy to get well ahead of us. Once on the road again we realised that the light refreshment had only wetted our appetites and we soon stopped again for lunch. The halfway point was Helmesley, which we knew would be busy, so having eaten, we didn't stop there but kept on driving. The route was superb with some amazing little lanes. The two fords were good. The first had little water and I could get through it briskly. The second had more water and a left hand bend which meant I had to be a bit more gentle. As the day progressed the roads dried out and we had a very enjoyable drive arriving at Roots Farm Shop just after 2 o clock where we spent a pleasant couple of hours chatting and taking pictures. I won a box of toffees in the raffle. They're probably the most expensive toffees ever, not because of the cost of the tickets but the cost of having my fillings replaced. As the oldest car in the run I gladly took the prize of a bottle of wine. A great day out with super people and lovely roads. A big thank you to Reg & Babs for all their hard work in planning the run and Derek for managing the raffle.
This is a strange year. Newby and this event next to each other and no driving events to clash. Once again the A19 called as Ripon Racecourse is only about a mile or so from Newby. This time it was a dry run down. We arrived just after 10am and as we hadn't entered in advance we were directed to the late entry tent where we paid our fiver and headed for the showfield which was already half full. One of the things I like about this show is that cars are parked as they come in so apart from the club stands there aren't row upon row of the same cars. It's much more interesting this way. Once parked up we headed for the autojumble and had a browse around but managed to keep my wallet closed. Back to the car for a cuppa and then round the field to see the exhibits, which we wanted to do early as rain was forecast for the afternoon. Sure enough the forecast rain arrived and there was an exodus of cars leaving. If we had left with them we would have been soaked with the slow crawl off the showfield so we stayed on for a while. Light refreshment in the cafe followed by and hour or so watching the entertainment filled the time well.
Eric & Anna provided excellent musical entertainment and Uncle Mal was brilliant keeping the children occupied with his magic trick and ventriloquism. We couldn't put off leaving any longer as things were winding down so we sorted the car out and set off for the soggy drive home. Old Numbum was put away very wet, unloaded, and we closed the front door on a very damp evening. Time for old Numbum to stretch its legs this time to head down the boring A19 to an event we've been to many times. We've missed a few when dates clashed with driving events which I prefer to do. It was raining when we got up but had stopped by the time we were ready to go. Even so we decided that wet weather gear was in order and that turned out to be a wise choice. About 5 miles into the journey it started to rain and not just a few drops. The inside and outside of the windscreen and my specs were running with water. It was then that the wipers decided to go on strike. That was fun. I didn't have the video camera running as it's normally a boring run but not this time. I was doing about 50mph when I was overtaken by a waggon who wasn't going much faster then me. It took him forever to get past and all the time I was getting soaked with spray. Eventually he made it and pulled in front which created problems as Pam couldn't work the wipers fast enough to cope with the spray. Then he pulled off into a service area. Thanks mate. Despite the rain, we made good time and by the time we got to Newby the rain had stopped and it stayed stopped all day. It was a great day, just chilling and enjoying the cars & meeting folks. We walked miles, I was 6ft 6ins when I set out. I'm now only 5ft 11ins. I picked up a magnetic LED inspection light and a magnetic tray from the autojumble and lightened my wallet by a fiver. The showfield is massive. It has to be with around 1500 vehicles there and we took our time, breaking the day up with nibbles & drinks back at the car where we met old & new friends and chatted to many visitors. Somehow this day didn't start out quite right. We needed fuel for the day so set off for a filling station on the way. It was closed and we plodded on and found another. The strange thing is that If I'd gone the way we normally do there was a 24 hour filling station we could have used. Why I took us the way I did is still a mystery. Maybe I should wake up before setting out. The plan was to arrive early at Beamish and hope to sneak in a start earlier than our planned time. With going a different way and two stops before we got fuel we ended up starting only about five minutes early. Some of the delay was also caused by messing with our new intercom system and the in car cam. I couldn't get the cam to work so chucked it in the bag and ran without it. We got away OK and all was fine until a short way down the road a gust of wind caught my cap. I felt it lift but it was gone before I could get my hand on it. We could have gone back to look for it but decided against it as it could have been anywhere and we didn't really have time for a long search. The rest of the morning was great and we had a good run with few hold ups and we soon arrived at Bainbridge for lunch. The lunch break is a great social occasion and we chatted to many old & new friends, some of whom are readers of this website. Thanks for reading and making yourselves known. I'm sorry if I missed anybody. I managed to get the in car cam running so there is some video of the afternoon run back to Beamish. Pam and I also managed to get some pictures of the wide selection of great motors. Somewhere along the way, the Wolseley belonging to Beamish Museum tried to get through a too narrow gap between a wall and an oncoming car. The Wolseley suffered but thankfully there were no injuries. The afternoon section was wonderful. Numbum was running really well, the weather was OK and we didn't get held up too much by slower cars. The checkpoint questions seemed more difficult than the morning ones, but that could be because we weren't as fresh & bright. As we approached Beamish, some of the early finishers were heading home but there were still plenty of cars on the showfield. We knew there were many behind us and they would be really late. We didn't win anything in the raffle so we wandered about chatting & taking photos until the dark clouds prompted us to set off home before we got wet. This is a big event and it takes a lot of people to manage the start & finish, ask questions at the checkpoints, and manage the lunch halt. A huge thank you to you all. Without you we couldn't have our fun.
Apart from a short run to visit a friend this was the first time Numbum had been out since our return from Scotland over a month ago. Time to see how well the repairs worked. We had our ususal signing on duties at Stokesley and got there in plenty of time to get set up. The coffee & bacon butties went down well as we met old & new friends all looking forward to a good day out. The start time soon came round and we were the first car away, flagged off at 10am. Bright blue skies and some warmth in the sun made for a pleasant drive through some lovely countryside. The morning section took us through Stokesley, Swainby, Osmotherley, Northallerton and onwards to the optional lunch break in Richmond. We didn't stop in Richmond but followed the route until we found a place to stop to eat, take photos and some video. Most of the photos I took were rubbish because I forgot to change the settings on the camera. The video wasn't too bad though. Once we crossed the A66 the route headed northwards through, Ovington, Winston, Staindrop, Toft Hill, Crook and onwards to Durham to the finish on The Palace Green Sitting on the grass in the sunshine with coffee & a cream scone was great relaxation after a good drive. The TA performed well all day and it was a joy to drive. Up in Scotland we came to the concusion that my failing hearing was making things difficult so I bought an intercom system and this was the first time we'd used it. It worked well and the only issue was the fact that it was wired and every time I moved my head the earpiece tried to escape from my ear. I'm sure I'll find a cure for that. I'm not sure it's worth spending the money on a wireless system. The newest car on the run was a new MG3 brought along by the Teesside dealership. Pam spent a lot of time looking at this and talking to the salesmen. I'm getting a bit worried now. All the cars attracted a lot of attention from the public and we had a great time chatting to them and others who were on the run. Once the awards were made for the cars the judge would most like to take home, it was time to say goodbye and head for home. Just 122 miles on the clock today but they were hugely enjoyable miles. I love 'all you can eat' breakfasts and I made the most of it today to keep me going through to afternoon tea. Room emptied - check. Bill paid - check. Car loaded - check. We didn't have any more than we came up with but it seemed to take some getting in. How that happens, I don't know. A final visit to the filling station and it was time to go on the final leg of this superb tour. It was dry & bright, if a little cool. Thankfully the torrential rain of yesterday had passed and we looked forward to a good run. The car started easily with its new battery and we rumbled off. All was well until navigational errors took us off the planned route in the Garvald area but the roads we used to get back on track were just as good as the ones on the route. Not all errors are bad. A brief stop en route to take some pictures & video gave us the chance to stretch our legs for a while. We took another short stop are Scotts View where Pam took this panoramic picture. It was a lovely view. Moving on for more lovely driving roads & views we came to the climb up to Witchie Knowe and across Ettrick Valley. This was so good I deemed it worthy of a video on its own. Finally we reached the end of the run at The Woll Golf Club where a super afternoon tea awaited us. We said goodbye to old & new friends and headed for home with Don & Eileen riding shotgun most of the way in case our battery troubles of yesterday recurred. Thankfully they didn't but the run wasn't without drama. Our route was across country to pickup the A68 then a blast south down to Darlington. All was well until we were well south of Corbridge when suddenly old Numbum started to run very rough with losts of popping and banging from the exhaust. Under hard acceleration it would cough & splutter then smooth out and pull like a train. On a cruising throttle it popped and banged as it did on deceleration. I pulled up at the first safe spot I could find and opened the bonnet on the passenger side, fully expecting to find a loose plug lead. All the plug leads were fine and as I raised my head the view across the rocker cover showed the problem instantly. The dashpot & piston from the front carburetor was missing. Gone completely. I found the dashpot laid on the chassis rail but the piston had certainly done a runner. Don, behind me, didn't see anything drop off, and it wasn't embedded in his grille, so I can only presume that it's laid somewhere along the A68. As the car was still running, albeit badly, we decided to press on for home and we made it without any more trouble. I'll have to raid the parts boxes to find the bits to fix it. If you read Friday's report you will recall the song 'Nothings going to stop us now'. What an omen that was! Nothing did stop us. Here's the final video from the weekend. Watch carefully, you may be on it. Despite the problems we had a wonderful time. Even problems make great memories. Memories that couldn't have been made without all the hard work of the Caledonian Centre committee who must have put hours and hours into organising this.
We thank you all very much indeed. Up early for a quick coffee and breakfast biscuits before heading off to the start at Dobbies Garden World. Despite having a map and instructions we had trouble finding the place. The bright side was we found a reasonably priced filling station and topped up the tank. We arrived to find a car park full of MGs of all ages ranging from a 1934 PA to a 2010 TF. That's according to the list of runners but I'm sure I saw an MG3 & an MG6 on the run. We signed on and enjoyed a substantial bacon butty & a cuppa before going back out to the car park, which was full of activity with people attaching rally plaques and having convivial conversations. We were soon flagged off and on our way to North Berwick by what must have been the least direct route possible. This of course was much more interesting than the direct route and we had a blast on some fine driving roads. We stopped along the way to take a few pictures of our fellow travellers. There is also some video of them. Peebles was about half way in our journey so we made a comfort stop and decided to have some lunch. Just as we parked I got something in my eye. Pam had a look but couldn't see anything. It was driving me crazy and I could barely see out of that eye. We found a chemist but they wouldn't even look at it, but sold us some eyewash and directed us to an optician. The eyewash didn't help but the optician did find something and removed it. There was still some irritation there which steadily got worse. I stopped on the roadside and Pam had another look and removed what seemed to be half of Scotland from my eye. Just as well that she did or we could have been arrested at the border for tyring to steal the country. The second leg from Peebles to North Berwick was uneventful apart from in North Berwick itself where a navigational error had us going round in circles for a while, but we made it in the end. As is normal with technology, I somehow lost quite a bit of today's video, but I've made the best of what I had. The sound of three PAs pulling away from a junction is amazing Check in at the hotel was chaotic as you would expect with 60 couples all turning up almost together, but we were soon in our room which was warm & comfotable with a great sea view. The evening meal was very tasty but, being a pie & chips man, it was a bit arty farty for my liking. Following the meal there was a quiz which our table won. Yipeee!!
A couple of drinks and some chat wound up the night and it was time for bed. 114 miles on the clock today. This three day scenic tour started in Livingstone and would be based in North Berwick. We decided to take Numbum for a good drive. As the start in Livingstone was too early for us to drive up on the Saturday it was a Friday drive with an overnight stay in Livingstone. To get the TA out meant moving two other cars and as I started Pam's Suzuki the radio burst into life and the song playing was 'Nothings going to stop us now' by Starship. I took that as a good omen and if you read about the rest of the event it will become clear that nothing did stop us. We took the now familiar A68, but this time all the way to just south of Edinburgh. It was an uneventful drive. A short break for food at Brockbushes near Corbridge was the only long stop. We made a short stop at the Scottish border for a photo op. About five & a quarter hours after we set off we arrived in the Travelodge car park. We booked in and got all our junk up into the room and freshened up. The staff couldn't have been more helpful and once they found out where we were going they printed off a map & instructions for us. The restaurant attached to the hotel was fully booked so we took a short walk to a nearby pub for a good hearty meal. When we got back to the hotel there were other MGs in the car park. Finally, it was time for much needed sleep after 164 open air miles.
Aaaargh! A bleary eyed 6am peek round the curtains revealed a coating of white frost on all the cars. Not the best sight with a long day ahead. Thankfully the sun was up and by the time we had old Numbum loaded up the temperature had gone up a bit. Just a bit though. Once again the A68 was calling us. A bit further up than the Killhope Wheel trip, all the way to Brockbushes at Corbridge. We arrived in plenty of time to get set up for our signing on duties, in the warm with a cup of piping hot coffee. A bit of banter to get folks in the mood and it was off to the start. This was a bit later at 10.30 which gave us a bit more time to get sorted out. 60 cars on the list today. A couple were delayed due to breakdowns en route but started later. While we were signing everybody on our senses were assailed by the smell of the bacon butties that everybody was eating, but we couldn't join them so we stopped a short way into the run for a sarnie & cuppa and took the opportunity to get some photos. Suitably refreshed we set off to play catch up with the others. Superb roads and decent weather made the day a joy to be out. The only downsides were a couple of short sharp hail showers. Even small hailstones hurt a lot when they bounce off your head. The halfway point was Alnwick where we managed to get parked and have a chat to others who were there. The return leg was just as good as the outward one and we were quite warm when the sun actually came out from behind the clouds. Back at Brockbushes it was time for more photos before heading indoors for a cream scone and a cuppa. Once again, some good crack with great people. Thanks to the two guys, who's names I didn't get, for telling me about my malfunctioning brake light. Thanks also for your kind words about the performance of Numbum. It's high praise coming from an RV8 driver. Thanks also to Ian and all who helped him set up the day, with a special thanks to Lady C, the youngest Tyne Tees marshal, who did a great job getting people parked up. My arm is still aching from the power of her high fives. Here's the video of the day. Watch it carefully, you may be in it. A very good day. We arived home weary & windblown having put another 204 miles on the clock.
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AuthorHi, I'm Owen and I've been having fun with MGs since 1970, starting with my 1937 MGTA. Since then I've had three Y types and a couple of Z Magnettes. I now have a 1971 MGB GT along with the TA and my wife and I are still having fun Archives
September 2020
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